Of Prison Visits and Late Nights
by DrKCooper
Summary: Kate asks for Sandra's help with a case. Many visits to a local prison and many late nights in their offices allows for the developing of a bond. Terrible summary. Multichapter piece.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _For the People_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to ABC and Shondaland. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fan fiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

Author's note: Another Littlebell pairing because they scream to be written. Set somewhere in the second season. Will be multi-chapter. -dkc

**Of Prison Visits and Late Nights**

Hi, I'm looking for Kate Littlejohn," the small woman said to the security officer as she glanced around the dimly lit foyer of the correctional institution.

"Ms. Bell?" he glanced up at her after having held his phone to his ear in silence for a moment. She nodded. "You can go on through."

A loud buzz was followed by an automatic gate opening for her to step through. She was new to this particular facility and found it all rather off-putting. How could it not be when it housed mere children? The oldest locked up there was seventeen.

"Kate?" Sandra walked into the room where clients met with their lawyers. "What are we doing here?"

The blonde was perfectly pressed and prepared for what was ahead. Sandra, as usual, was a bit scattered. Her eyes asked once again and Kate finally answered her.

"I have a client for you," she said. "Thank you for coming."

"You know I work for Jill, right? She assigns me my cases."

Having taken a seat next to the prosecutor, she awaited additional information.

"I have a case, a man indicted on conspiracy charges," Kate had yet to look at Sandra and seemed to be weighing her words carefully. Not knowing Kate well, Sandra was left disconcerted.

"I cannot help you with your case. It would be unethical to step into something I know nothing about and defend him at my own discretion and—"

"Please don't interrupt me."

Sandra was dumbstruck which, she had to give Kate credit, had shut her up.

"He has a son. The son is not in here for anything related to my case. They haven't seen each other in years. In exchange for a guilty plea, he asked that I please look into his son's case. Here is his file," Kate handed over a perfectly indexed and flagged folder that made Sandra inwardly smile.

Flipping through the file in the hope of absorbing absolutely anything about the case before she met the client, Sandra readied her questions.

"The D.A. wants you to see to this young man's case under the belief it will bring you a guilty plea. Okay, I think I understand."

"No."

Sandra's head swiveled as she tried desperately to understand this situation.

"The D.A. is not asking for this. There is no formal agreement in place," Littlejohn looked at her feet, she was embarrassed at her lack of ethics, but not ashamed for helping a man protect and look out for his child.

"He is asking you; you are asking me. Okay."

Sandra Bell leafed through the items in the folder, noting the crime, time served and initial sentence. Along with the case materials, there was a letter from a family friend begging the judge for leniency. There were several notes in margins that matched Kate's handwriting. When she finished skimming the summary, she found Kate's eyes on her and felt self-conscious.

"What?" she asked the shocked prosecutor.

At that moment the door buzzed and opened to allow a young man to enter. He was not cuffed and he was clearly well liked by the facility staff and the corrections officers.

"Miss Kate," the young man smiled broadly and shook the lawyer's hand happily. He glanced at Sandra who appeared a bit shell shocked.

"Mateo, this is Sandra Bell. She is a federal public defender. A fancy name for a lawyer who will be on your side," Kate spoke to him with concern and care.

"Hello, Miss—" he stopped himself before swallowing hard and continuing. "Miss Sandra, I am Mateo Rosa. Thank you for coming to see me today."

"It's my pleasure, Mateo. Tell me about your case."

And thus began the three hour review of the case. Kate remained supportive and answered questions as she could, but she allowed Sandra to lead the discussion.

"Thank you, Miss Sandra," he shook her hand warmly as the officer returned for him.

"It was nice to see you, Miss Kate," he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around the uncomfortable prosecutor. He then left and the gate closed behind him leaving Sandra grinning at what she had observed.

"What?" Kate asked, the question reminding them of Sandra saying that very thing when Kate looked at her just as Mateo arrived.

"I've never seen this side of you. It's..." Sandra wanted to say adorable but knew Kate Littlejohn would find this abhorrent. "...charming."

A slight blush colored Kate's cheeks. She tried to pivot.

"Why did you say yes to taking Mateo's case? You said yourself that you receive your assignments from Jill. There is nothing noteworthy about his case," she genuinely did not know.

"Because you asked me to," Sandra's response was self-assured and confident.

"Do you need a ride back to the office?" Kate switched gears and left the implications of Sandra's willingness to help behind.

"Sure, I took the train. Multiple trains. I didn't know this place existed."

"I don't imagine you deal with many cases involving juveniles."

They both stood, putting their notes in their respective bags and saying nothing until they had exited the building and were climbing into Kate's car.

"I didn't know that you drive. Few people around the office actually drive much less have a car," Sandra was feeling nervous for reasons she couldn't place.

"I'm not from the city. Driving was once a necessity. Rural Virginia isn't exactly known for its public transportation. This is Roger's car. Mine is in the shop," Kate pulled out of the parking lot and showed the same precision and attention to driving as she did the organization of case files.

"I don't drive anymore. The subway is my primary mode of transportation. Walking my second. Of course I drove growing up in Sacramento. Everybody in California drives."

Sandra's hands were restless and her mind busy. Being in the car with Kate was making her anxious.

"Do you get carsick?" Kate asked.

"No. Why?" she glanced at the driver's profile.

"You are uncomfortable."

The way the AUSA said things carried a weight of certainty. It was as if what she was saying could not be argued with.

"You have this effect on me," Sandra decided to try straightforward honesty as well.

"I make you uncomfortable?" she kept her eyes on the road.

"You could say that, yes. You are intimidating. Incredibly smart, professional, focused. Things I am not. So yes, you can make me uncomfortable," the smaller woman admitted.

Nothing was said in response to Sandra's admission. They continued on toward the office in companionable silence.

"I admire how personable you are with your clients. You are empathetic, without trying. It's why I called you—why I asked you to take this case," Kate's voice did not waver despite her mind being in overdrive.

Looking straight ahead, processing what she was being told, the public defender was touched by what the prosecutor said.

"Children require a rapport that I'm afraid I am not proficient at establishing."

"You and Mateo seem to have a great rapport," Sandra offered.

Kate said nothing. The defender considered this for a moment. She was not without her questions.

"There are plenty of people in my office who could handle this case, Kate."

"I didn't want plenty of people," came the firm answer.

"Why me, Kate?" she pressed.

"I told you. I admire the way you are with your clients."

Kate was not going to make this easy for Sandra. She would have to work for every crumb.

"There's something else. I know it's there and I can be very persistent."

Still with her eyes on the road, Kate maneuvered through traffic and turned on her blinker at the light before a foreign parking structure that was not the one next to the office.

"Umm...?" Sandra asked as she looked around as they drove inside. It was an upscale residential parking structure.

"Roger doesn't need his car. We can walk from here," Kate parked and turned off the car.

It now made sense.

"I asked you because I value your opinion. I asked you because I knew you would be kind to Mateo. I asked you because I enjoy being in your presence. I asked you because—"

A hand on her own stopped Kate from continuing.

"That's enough for me," Sandra smiled, leaving her hand where it was for another beat. When she pulled it away, she noticed a slight tremor in Kate's pinkie.

Stepping out of the car and grabbing her bag, Sandra couldn't help but smile. That Kate maintained complete composure at all times hardly was fair.

"I enjoy spending time with you, too."

Sandra said what she had wanted to say and then directed her focus to the walk back to work. What she didn't see was the hint of a smile on Kate's lips.

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm here to meet Kate Littlejohn, our client is Mateo—" Sandra was cut off.

"They are waiting for you, Ms. Bell," the officer smiled at her and buzzed the gate open.

She made her way through the same maze she had the previous time until she reached the room where she could see Mateo and the back of Kate's head. The corrections officer opened the door for her, reminding her of the rules and she entered to a smiling and always polite Mateo. He shook her hand and thanked her for coming.

"Hi," Sandra said under her breath as she took a seat next to Kate.

"I thought we should focus on the first interrogation and his initial public defender," Sandra said as much to Kate as Mateo. She pulled out her files and began.

Sandra Bell's office was not the only thing messy about her. The legal pad she had written her notes on could not have been deciphered by anyone else. Kate glanced at it numerous times to get an idea where a series of questions might be leading only to be left completely in the dark by the illegible notes.

"When you were taken to the police station did they remind about your right to a lawyer?" Sandra asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded.

Kate's lip twitched as she contemplated how unlikely it was that Sandra enjoyed the ma'am treatment.

As the questioning continued, the bright prosecutor caught on to what the other lawyer was zeroing in on. It wasn't a point she had considered initially, but the details between arrest and lockup weren't what she had spent her time on when she was first asked to look at Mateo's case. She was reminded why she valued Sandra's opinion and why the public defender was perfect for this case—she understood the law inside and out, but also knew how some looked at the law and tried to skirt it to accomplish putting someone behind bars. There had to be some cynicism in Sandra's view of the law. However, she never let on and she certainly never did so with a client.

Mateo, without knowing it, was leading the two lawyers to the very information that could have his entire case thrown out. The anticipation of what they both hoped was coming had them on the edges of their chairs. Sandra busily took notes and Kate sat rapt. When the next question posed seemed most likely to flip the case, Kate reached beneath the table and grabbed Sandra's free hand, holding it tight as she stared ahead at the young man. It was as if holding that hand tight for long enough for Mateo to speak would bring out the exact detail they would need to get him out.

What he said to them was more than they could have ever imagined having. There were at least three points worth petitioning the court over and at least three seemed big enough failures in the system to get Mateo a new trial if not have his sentence vacated.

...

"Oh, my god!" Sandra said as they exited the building and were out of earshot of the gate guards. "I have never had a case go like this."

"You did a masterful job of questioning him," Kate smiled, putting on her sunglasses and once again getting behind the wheel of Roger's Mercedes.

Sandra got in the car and continued to stare at Kate—not buckling her seatbelt, not saying a word.

"What?" Kate finally said in that sharp way she often made statements.

"You grabbed my hand."

Kate looked straight ahead, started the car and clutched the steering wheel.

"I did," she finally said.

"Okay."

Now Kate looked over at Sandra. She wished she was better at reading the nuances of her colleague's facial expressions.

"Okay?" she mimicked.

"Yes, okay."

Sandra buckled her seatbelt and straightened the hem of her skirt. She didn't look back over at Kate. She wasn't going to say any more about it.

Eventually Kate realized that was the end of any discussion recognizing what had happened. She put the car in gear and drove off the premises toward the turnpike back into the city.

They didn't say anything of importance on their way back to the office. Kate navigated traffic skillfully and took them once again to Roger's building's garage where they left his car and began their walk back to their offices. It was past five when they left the car and both women knew they didn't have any work to do when they got there, but neither woman wanted to say goodnight and go their separate ways. They talked about all kinds of things that did not relate to work in any way.

"Here we are," Sandra said, nodding to the building ahead of them that housed the U.S. attorney's office.

"Oh," Kate looked surprised. "I can walk you to your office. I don't have anything pressing I need to attend to."

Sandra smiled at this realizing Kate had wanted to walk with her to spend time with her not because they happened to be heading in the same direction.

"Do you have any plans right now?" she asked the somewhat confused blonde, finally receiving a shake of the head. "Would you like to grab some dinner?"

The way Kate Littlejohn tries to hide a smile is adorable in its awkward, self-denying way. She is not one to show outward emotion. But every now and then she let slip the fact that she craves human affection, too.

"Since you made me take this case, you're buying," Sandra nudged Kate's shoulder and began walking away, leaving the prosecutor to catch up.

Sandra didn't have to look back to know Kate was following.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

Sandra was curled up against the arm of her office couch lost in thought when a soft knock came at the door. Cracking the blinds, Sandra noticed it was dark in the rest of the office. She had returned from court and lost track of time.

"Sandra." The soft yet assured voice of Kate Littlejohn came from the other side of the door.

"Come in," the public defender hurriedly wiped her eyes hoping any mascara streaks were now gone.

"Hey."

The prosecutor looked at her with a worried expression and empathy. Even she had lost a case. She knew how personal she had taken the loss.

Sandra patted the seat of the couch next to her.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Nearly ten," Kate answered.

"I was supposed to meet Ted at the gym!"

She reached for a phone and typed out a text message, worrying her lip as she did so.

"I'm sure he will understand. You've had a tough day."

Returning her attention to Kate, the small honey-haired woman shook her head at her failure.

"Can I ask about Ted?"

"What about Ted?" Sandra was unsure where this might go.

"Are you and he...?" Kate dropped eye contact as though insecure, something Sandra did not believe her to be, or not truly wanting to know the answer.

"No. It's boxing. I made it very clear that I wasn't interested in a distraction."

"Oh," Kate was disappointed in the latter portion of Sandra's answer. "I understand making work a priority."

Sandra sensed Kate's disappointment and jumped to explain.

"I'm not interested in Ted. It's not that I wouldn't be interested in having a personal life."

The federal prosecutor appeared to be mulling this information over.

"Can I ask if you and Knox are...?" Sandra gambled.

"Leonard?" Kate shook her head. "No, we are friends. He wanted more, but I was interested in someone else at the time. I wanted more and he left for Texas. He is a great guy, I couldn't see myself with a...in a relationship at that time."

_Well, well_, Sandra thought. That was the biggest revelation she had ever got from Kate Littlejohn and yet the woman hadn't actually said it.

"What happened with the person you were interested in?" she asked Kate.

"It was short lived. I liked her. It wouldn't have worked. Different worlds. And we were both devoted to our work. Her job was dangerous and I didn't handle knowing that well," Kate didn't look at Sandra as she remembered Anya. "I'd wanted it to work more than she had."

"I'm sorry, Kate," Sandra touched the woman's forearm.

"It's okay. Really."

They sat like that for a moment without saying anything. It wasn't until Sandra's phone rang that either moved. Reaching for her phone, she left her other hand touching Kate.

"Hello?" It was Ted. "No, I'm okay, thank you. I don't need any company. Sparring Friday morning?" she waited for an answer, smiled and then hung up without saying goodbye.

"I could go," Kate offered.

"No!" Sandra was quick, maybe too quick, to say no. She wanted to spend time with Kate. "You are the company I need."

This made Kate's body warm throughout.

"I am really sorry about your case," Kate sighed.

"Yeah," she sighed. "We'll have better luck with Mateo's case."

Kate Littlejohn likes being a 'we' no matter the context with which Sandra Bell said it.

"You are incredible," she let slip, much to the surprise of Sandra who looked directly at Kate.

"Why?" she asked with trepidation.

"Your ability to move from one thing to the next. Your connection with your clients. Your humanity," Kate explained.

"Thank you." Sandra was blushing. She realized then that her hand had never left Kate's forearm. She gave a soft squeeze.

"I..." Kate hesitated. "I'd like to kiss you."

Sandra Bell was truly stunned. This was not something she ever thought Kate would say, even if she herself had thought about the possibility, however unlikely, of kissing Kate. She couldn't form a sound much less words. She nodded.

Kate leaned toward her, blue eyes meeting those blue-green eyes she found captivating. Their lips touched in a whisper; their breath stalled like an engine idling. The kiss held a gentility Sandra wasn't expecting from the always decisive Kate. She pressed her own lips harder into the kiss to show Kate that she, too, wanted this; to show that she, too, was interested. They slowly ended the kiss without even a tickle of tongue on lips. It was as it should be for their first kiss. Sandra hoped it wouldn't be their last. She loved the exciting possibilities the kiss represented.

"You are welcome to do that anytime you like without asking my permission," Sandra found herself whispering.

"I'd like that."

Kate Littlejohn smiled with what might actually be happiness.

"Can I walk you home?" she asked. "You can't stay in this office forever."

Sandra smiled and stood from the couch, her hand finally breaking contact with Kate's arm. She gathered her things and held out a hand to help the prosecutor up. Standing, Kate followed, her hand at the small of Sandra's back as the younger woman opened the door and led the way.

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you ever leave a few buttons open?" Kate looked up from the binder before her to see Sandra staring at her rather than working.

"Excuse me?" the prosecutor wanted to know she had heard correctly.

They were sitting across the desk from one another in the prosecutor's office. Once again they had been assigned the same case and were going through discovery together, a requirement placed on them by the judge.

"I am trying to remember if in the time I've worked with you, you have ever not worn a suit with your top button buttoned."

"What does this have to do with discovery?" Kate was not able to change her focus as easily as Sandra.

Sandra tilted her head and gave her colleague a hard stare.

"It is part of my professional armor," she said this as if everyone wore armor in the courtroom. It earned her a smile from Sandra.

"I want to see it."

Kate's mouth hung open at the request. You'd have thought Sandra asked her to strip. It was a matter of a couple buttons, but the thought was making her sweat. It wouldn't be unprofessional to fulfill the request. However, Kate thought humoring Sandra would be somehow more intimate than they were ready for.

Noticing how Kate was blinking and the slight coloring of her cheeks, Sandra let her off the hook.

"Do you have any phone records for the defendant during the period in question?" Sandra moved on, continuing to take notes as she sorted through the materials the prosecutor's office had provided her.

"During the period of your client's supposed alibi?" Kate hoped to make eye contact again, but the lawyer had truly moved on.

They went back and forth like this for over an hour.

"Let me check the search warrant," Kate stood and went to the corner filing cabinet, answering the latest of Sandra's questions. She was starting to find the back and forth working with the lawyer comfortable if not enjoyable. Sandra voiced her thoughts as she worked and this had taken getting used to, but now felt right.

Scanning documents of her own, the defender hadn't looked up as Kate vacated her desk in search of the paperwork. She hadn't looked up when Kate returned, either. The search warrant was passed across the desk to her without her glancing up from her notes.

"What evidence supported probable cause?" Sandra Bell finally looked up and her mouth went dry.

Kate Littlejohn had stealthily unbuttoned not two but three buttons while her back was turned at the file cabinet. When Sandra still hadn't said anything, the prosecutor began to feel very self-conscious. Her posture suggested as such. It was when she reached for the two sides of her shirt to pull together that Sandra flew into action.

"Don't!" she jumped out of her seat, reaching across the desk to still the arm attached to the hand that was fingering buttons, all of the papers in her lap scattering all over the floor.

Kate looked down at Sandra's hand and how close it was to skin. Taking a shallow breath, she let go of her shirt and allowed the woman to again see the unbuttoned shirt.

"It's different. You look..." she struggled to find the right word. "I never realized that the way a shirt is buttoned can be such an important part of a persona."

"Is different a good or bad thing?" she looked to Sandra's eyes for the answer, blue-grey eyes that were still glued to Kate's neck and newly exposed upper chest. She had no idea what those entranced eyes were saying.

"Kate, I..." she thought she found something to describe how the blonde looked, but when Kate turned slightly, a peek of teasing cleavage came into view and Sandra was speechless again. Something on her own face must have changed as well because Kate was looking at her with amusement and what might have been pride.

The trance Kate had put Sandra in was suddenly broken when the phone on the prosecutor's desk rang. They both jumped. Sandra sat back down and busied herself with picking up the papers she had scattered. She was also attempting to hide what she knew must be reddened cheeks. She felt the heat. Everywhere.

Kate explained to the caller which office was hers and that she would have files ready. She hung up the phone, turning her back on Sandra as she buttoned her shirt up, rearming herself with the cloak of professionalism she was known for. Sandra smirked at Kate's modesty.

"I'm going to go back to the office," Sandra gathered her things and moved for the door.

"May I call you later?" the question caught Kate by surprise as it exited her own mouth and reached her ears.

The grin on Sandra's face calmed the prosecutor's momentary panic. She nodded and as she walked away. The older woman was left wondering how she could be made so off balance by another person. Kate Littlejohn was nothing if not balanced.

Or was she?

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

"Kate?" Allison stood holding the door wondering why Kate Littlejohn had rang the doorbell of their apartment.

"Hello," the blonde nodded, arms completely straight at her sides.

"Kate!" Sandra came out of her room and mercifully ended the awkward happening. "Come in."

As Sandra dragged Kate by her elbow into the living room, she looked at Allison with a look that told her best friend to not ask questions. Allison smiled at this. She knew her roommate and best friend well enough to know she didn't get like this over anyone.

"Sandy, I'm going out," she chuckled as she put on her coat and shook her hair out. "Don't wait up."

Allison hadn't been expected to still be home when Kate arrived. Sandra may have delayed or said something to Allison if she had known.

"I'm sorry about that," she said as she motioned to the couch and sat down.

Kate hadn't said anything to Sandra since being pulled into the apartment. She was surprised by the touch on her elbow. She momentarily wondered if the two women had talked about her.

"You wanted to talk?" Kate reminded Sandra of their phone call. The younger woman had then asked if the prosecutor wanted to come over. Kate had promised to call her as Sandra was leaving the assistant U.S. attorney's office, but Sandra wanted to bask in Kate's presence. A call alone would not do.

"I wanted to see you," Sandra corrected.

"Oh," Kate responded.

"I like you, Kate," she admitted.

Kate was stunned. In fact, she thought Sandra was going to apologize for the button incident and the lack of professionalism in the workplace. She thought Sandra might regret the entire exchange.

"I haven't stopped thinking about the night in my office."

The kiss. Kate had also spent time thinking about this. She had loved the touch of Sandra's lips against her own. She had relished the taste of those lips.

"Perhaps we shouldn't face off in court any longer," Kate considered the implications on their professional lives of their liking each other and spending time together in their personal lives.

"I like going up against you. You challenge me."

Kate smiled. She, too, enjoyed when they faced each other. She admired Sandra's intelligence and arguments. She silently celebrated when Roger handed out assignments and she saw Sandra's name on the file.

"If this were to... If you and I... It would be the ethical thing." Kate was unusually hesitant and tongue-tied.

"Mmhmm."

Sandra's body was humming. She was drawn to the blue-eyed blonde to a degree she hadn't been drawn to anyone, man or woman, in a while.

"Sandra?" Kate's voice lowered.

"Don't."

"Don't?" Kate asked, her body had been leaning toward Sandra, but now she stopped. Her ceased progression frustrated the woman on the couch beside her.

"I told you that you don't need permission," Sandra smirked.

Kate's lips were pressed against the other woman's without further dancing. Unlike the kiss on Sandra's office couch, tongues tangled and needy hands grabbed for anything they could. Sandra's hand was grasping Kate's neck, her fingers brushed by straight, angular, blonde hair. Kate's hand found the curve of Sandra's hip. She utilized unexpected, but exciting force. She brought the smaller woman closer. The kiss was kinetic.

"Oh, god," Sandra panted when they broke for breath.

Kate's wide eyes were wildly searching for reassurance. The small, passionate woman said nothing. Their eyes held one another's as Sandra leaned forward, hands steadied on Kate's shoulders before sliding inward to her neck. The prosecutor's breath caught when thoset wo hands met at the base of her throat. Sandra unbuttoned the top button slowly, her eyes focusing on that spot, her teeth subtly biting her lower lip. Kate's heart hammered against her ribs. Another button popped open; Sandra's warm breath could be felt on the exposed skin.

"God," Kate sighed.

Sandra undid another button—exactly the number of buttons Kate had opened when she surprised the defender in her office earlier that day.

Soft, supple lips pressed against the hollow of Kate's neck. Exploring the skin with her lips was hardly enough. Her tongue slipped out to trace the open area. A deep moan escaped the blonde, it vibrated across her vocal chords and subsequently Sandra's tongue.

They were completely lost in that subtle touch of tongue that neither of them heard a key opening the front door.

"Forgot my wallet!" Allison's voice announced as she closed the door behind her. "Oh!"

Sandra had sat up quickly, but it was obvious where her mouth had been. Kate was flushed to begin with, but the sudden intrusion had darkened the redness on her face. Her eyes caught Allison's and she saw something in them that she didn't know the woman well enough to accurately read. Sandra, on the other hand, looked at her best friend and read the amusement and pride with ease. She shook her head bashfully, yet with her own growing sense of pride.

"Sandra," Allison smiled. "Kate. Goodnight."

Grabbing her wallet from the console, Allison disappeared out the door.

Sandra immediately turned back to Kate. They had matching red cheeks and embarrassed demeanors.

"She won't say anything," Sandra blurted out, kicking herself when she lost the words to the space between them. Kate might not have been worried about this, but the defender had now planted that seed.

Kate's hand went to the collar of her shirt where she quickly buttoned it. She felt naked suddenly.

"I mean—" Kate stopped Sandra.

"It's okay. I didn't think she would."

No longer bothered with the buttons, the blonde's hand dropped to Sandra's. She gave it a squeeze. The prosecutor didn't seem to be shutting herself off and this was a pleasant development. Sandra expected Kate to flea after Allison's unwanted appearance. She didn't.

"When I was fifteen, my strict, military father walked in on my study partner and I kissing. Jennifer Watson. He got concerned about me because he knew that I didn't do study groups and I never had friends come over. He was offering me an out from what otherwise would have been an unbearable study group and there I was coming out. He looked at me, looked at her, left the room and didn't speak to me for two days."

Kate Littlejohn was not known for sharing life stories. Sandra measured her response. Kate was not looking for an apology or sympathy or pity. She wasn't even looking for assurance regarding Allison.

"Umm... I should warn you. Allison will want to talk about this. And talk, and talk, and... You may be spared. I will not," Sandra smiled and leaned her forehead against Kate's.

"I would find that awkward."

This made Sandra laugh. It was a truth that need not be said, but Kate's self-awareness struck her as equally funny and adorable.

"What?" Kate pulled back and set her jaw somewhat defensively before cracking a smile herself.

"You, Kate. You."

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6

"Allison."

"Kate."

The two women stood at attention in front of each other. They awaited the arrival of clients and the judge. Of all people to be assigned this case it had to be the two of them.

"Let's not let this be awkward," Allison finally spoke.

Kate nodded. While she looked entirely professional and pulled together on the outside, inside she was a mess. Her opponent in the courtroom had walked in on Kate experiencing Sandra's tongue on the hollow of her throat. Not only did this make her worry that Allison no longer respected her, she felt as if she'd been seen totally nude. The moment had been incredibly intimate.

"It's not you I was kissing," Kate said under her breath.

And then Allison burst into laughter. She had never laughed with Kate Littlejohn. In fact, she wasn't sure they'd so much as smiled at one another before. But there she was laughing at the pure absurdity of the situation.

"Sorry," she attempted to catch her breath. "This has never happened to me before. Sandra has never..."

When Allison's voice trailed off she left Kate creating every possible scenario in her mind. Sandra hasn't what?

Kate stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow when the public defender did not elaborate.

"Sandra has never what?" she asked.

"Sandy doesn't bring just anyone home, Kate. She is as protective of her space as she is her clients. She didn't always have a home. Home means something to her," Allison spoke with a seriousness and disposition that had the prosecutor's complete attention. "She is also not the type to have meaningless sex."

"We didn't have sex," Kate countered bluntly.

This brought a clearly contemplative look to the taller woman's face.

"Yet."

The courtroom door swung open and Allison's client's family streamed in. Kate wouldn't have had time to get a word in with the courtroom arrivals, but she didn't have such a word at the ready.

"All rise!" the bailiff startled Kate. She quickly took her place behind the table, rolled her shoulders back and found her courtroom rhythm quickly. She avoided her opponent's gaze and attempted to put Sandra out of her mind.

The two lawyers sparred as they presented their legal arguments for Allison's clients' continued pre-trial detainment. The judge asked good questions. She gave the defendant a chance to speak before determining that the accused would remain in lockup.

"Kate? A minute?" the woman asked after most spectators departed the courtroom.

Carefully placing her files in her attaché, Allison stood still. After doing the same the prosecutor was approaching. Her forehead furrowed.

"I assume this isn't about the case," the blonde said.

"Sandy... I love her. She means everything to me."

Kate nodded. She understood how close they were.

"She is steel. She is stronger than steel. She is—"

"I get it," Kate cut her off.

"No, you don't. She is the strongest person I know and yet her heart is in a very delicate cage. She has guarded against love. She has protected herself to a fault. But she isn't doing that with you. If she won't protect herself, I will do it. Be careful, Kate. Please."

The blonde stood there blinking repeatedly. Her eyes were wet, but she refused to allow a tear to escape.

"Yes." It was short and very like Kate.

Allison tilted her head in confusion. There hasn't been a question to be answered in anything she had said.

"She is steel. She is the strongest person I know. You are wrong if you think she hasn't guarded against me."

The prosecutor looked at the floor. She was startled by the hand that circled her wrist.

"Be careful."

Allison's tone was sincere not threatening.

Kate nodded. She cleared her throat of the ball of emotions that had settled there. Her eyes met the public defender's and there was an unspoken understanding between them. Allison offered a gentle smile as she released the prosecutor's wrist.

"Will you consider a plea?" the prosecutor shut the door on further discussion of Sandra, reminding herself more than anything that she was an AUSA in a federal courthouse with a case to attend to.

"No."

"No?" Kate questioned Allison who had stated it with such conviction.

"I may not like my client having to sit in jail until trial, but no," Allison was now walking toward the tall, heavy, wooden doors at the back of the courtroom. Kate had followed.

As they entered the broad hallways of the federal courthouse, the two walked through the corridors of justice as colleagues, equals. In matters of the law they were equals and in matters of Sandra's heart they were becoming so.

_To be continued… _


	7. Chapter 7

"I had an interesting conversation with Kate today," Allison said over the pint of ice cream they were both eating out of.

"My Kate?" Sandra said without thinking.

"Yours, huh?" she elbowed the small woman who immediately rolled her eyes.

"Don't start!"

"You said it," Allison smiled. "I must admit that this I didn't see coming. If anyone, I would have guessed Ted would have caught your eye. And a prosecutor, to boot."

"Ted is a good guy," Sandra returned her attention to the ice cream and didn't continue about their colleague who she knew had feelings for her.

"Honestly? I thought there was something going on between Kate and Knox. It didn't occur to me that Kate might be into women. I mean, should it have? Probably. But she's Kate. That woman is incredibly hard to read."

This made Sandy smirk. She had never met another person who was as hard to read as Kate. Had Kate not asked to kiss her on the couch at the office, she may never have known with certainty that Kate liked her.

"I read her the riot act," Allison said matter-of-factly.

This got Sandra's full attention.

"You did not!" her jaw dropped.

"In the courtroom... before and after court," Allison grinned at the brazenness of it. She would never have thought herself confident enough to lecture Kate Littlejohn about her personal life, but her love for Sandra knew no bounds.

"Poor Kate. I can't imagine how uncomfortable you must have made her," Sandra had started out the statement serious and then began giggling at the end. The entire scene was ludicrous and yet it made her love Allison all the more.

Allison loved to see Sandra laugh. There wasn't enough of it.

"Thanks, Al," she placed her head on the taller woman's shoulder.

"Anytime," Allison pressed a kiss to the top of Sandra's head before getting a wicked look on her face. "But I have to know, you really haven't slept together?"

Whipping her head around to look at her best friend, Sandra's jaw dropped once again.

"She told you?!"

Allison chuckled.

"She did indeed. I mean, you can understand how a person who walked in on _that_ might assume that once the door closed behind them things might have happened on this very couch."

Sandra thought back to the feel of Kate's skin on the tip of her tongue and that tight feeling in her core returned. She'd love to have Kate back on this couch.

"Nothing happened," she confirmed.

"But you _really_ wanted it to."

This made the young women smile and carry on eating their ice cream. These conversations were what best friends were for.

…

"Allison spoke to you," Sandra closed Kate's office door behind her and flopped down in a chair.

Taking her ear buds out, Kate was wide-eyed and switching gears from whatever work she had been doing to the statement and/or question at hand.

"She's worse than an overprotective father," Kate hypothesized.

"And you would know that how?" Sandra smirked at the thought.

"Nothing like a shotgun on the porch as I went off to prom. I didn't go to prom. I only know how my father treated my first serious girlfriend. He didn't want my heart to get broken. It did and nothing he could have done or said would have prevented that. It was the thought that counted," Kate was getting more comfortable sharing these personal anecdotes about her life.

"My first girlfriend, if you can call her that, was never invited to meet my dad."

Sandra had never mentioned her relationships, not with men or with women. She rarely discussed them with Allison. Telling Kate this felt like the natural sharing that happened between two women who were close and cared for each other.

"It's not a long distance from Sacramento to Berkeley, is it?" Kate asked.

"No, it isn't," Sandra started rummaging through her bag for a piece of gum. Kate opened her drawer and held out a perfectly square pack of gum. Of course Kate Littlejohn could prevent an opened pack of gum from becoming a mangled mess. Sandra smiled and took a piece.

"Thank you."

"First girlfriend suggests there were others," Kate lowered her gaze and noted the increased chewing of the small woman.

"Yes," Sandra left it there and this only made Kate more curious. She didn't pry, but she did smile inwardly at this revelation. There was some relief at hearing Sandra talk about girlfriends. Kate no longer felt she might be an anomaly in Sandra's life. They weren't girlfriends. They were existing in this space.

"I went to prom," the way Sandra said this was regretful.

"Bad experience?" Kate was concerned.

"I would have rather been home studying. It felt like lost time. It wasn't for me."

"I was home studying."

Standing and walking around her desk, Kate leaned against the edge and looked furtively at Sandra.

"Is there a reason you walked in here to announce something I already knew?" Kate brought them back around to her talk with Allison.

"I, well, yes," Sandra sat up and looked out the windows of Kate's office to see if any of her colleagues were nearby and might be walking in. The last thing she wanted was to say what was on her mind and have Seth or Leonard walk in at that moment. "You told her we are not having sex."

"That is a fact," the blonde was unrattled by the topic.

"I know this, obviously. Allison didn't need to know this," Sandra _was_ rattled.

"If it were true, I assume you would have told her. Isn't this what best friends talk about?" Kate folded her arms.

"Wait," Sandra sat forward. "Have you never had a best friend?"

"I don't see how that is relevant," Kate bristled.

"We aren't in a courtroom, Kate. Would you be okay if I told her? If we were, you know."

"That depends," Kate Littlejohn was embarrassed and dropped eye contact. "If you wanted to, you know."

"I can't believe we are grown women having this conversation!"

Sandra suddenly stood and moved toward Kate. With the prosecutor leaning against her desk, Sandra was not at as much of a height disadvantage. She lowered her voice and waited for blue eyes to find hers.

"You are not blind, dear Kate. You know I would."

Their faces were temptingly close.

Sandra pulled back, took her bag and exited Kate's office. She said 'good morning' to Seth and continued on her way off of the U.S. attorney's floor.

Kate remained at her desk; a deep inhale followed by a forceful exhale. It was going to be a long day.

To be continued…


End file.
